Panalpina and Cardiff Business School have strengthened their partnership with the launch of a new Logistics Manufacturing Research Centre. The center will conduct leading research into the fields of distributed manufacturing, 3D printing, the circular economy and the impact of digital manufacturing on global supply chains. The new center has already secured its first research grant.

Three years ago, Panalpina and Cardiff University in Wales (UK), set out to search for the ‘hidden formula’ for lean inventories. This innovative partnership has allowed Panalpina to launch D2ID, a new inventory forecasting application.The co-innovation approach has been so successful, that the research is now being expanded to include new manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing.